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Ava Ostern Fries, the wife of producer Chuck Fries whose experiences as a Beverly Hills Girl Scout leader inspired the film “Troop Beverly Hills,” died Oct. 2. She was 87.

Born in Dexter, Mo., she moved to Los Angeles after graduating the U. of Tulsa. She started out teaching and acting before joining Danny Thomas Productions as a development executive. She then formed her own production company, Avanti Enterprises, which produced the TV series “Born Famous” about the children of the rich and famous. The series led to the 1989 Shelly Long comedy “Troop Beverly Hills,” based on Fries’ own experiences leading her daughter’s scout troop, remembered for its campy dance numbers, celebrity cameos and extravagant costumes.

A sequel to “Troop Beverly Hills” was announced in 2020.

Fries was active in many charities and worked to give young people opportunities in theater education.

She served on the board of directors for Los Angeles...

Ava Ostern Fries, a producer who used her own experience as a Girl Scout troop leader to create the hit 1989 Shelley Long comedy Troop Beverly Hills, died Oct. 2, her family has announced. She was 87.

Showbiz & Media Figures We’ve Lost In 2021 – Photo Gallery

Her passing comes less than six months after the death of her husband of 33 years, longtime TV and film producer Charles “Chuck” Fries.

Born in Dexter, Mo, Ava Fries earned a degree in Theatre Arts and English at the University of Tulsa before moving with her young family to Los Angeles, where she taught English and theater at schools while beginning her career in show business, first as a television actress and off camera.

After serving as a development executive with Danny Thomas Productions, she formed her own production company, Avanti Enterprises, which in 1987 produced the documentary series Born Famous, about the children of the rich and famous.

Charles “Chuck” Fries, whose career as a television and film producer included a long list of classic shows, series and films, died Wednesday, his family announced. He was 92. No cause of death was given.

During a prolific career that spanned more than 60 years, he participated in the production of more than 5,000 series episodes, 140 television movies and miniseries and more than 40 theatrical films. His producing credits range from Tales of the Crypt and The Call of the Wild to TV’s The Amazing Spider-Man and The Martian Chronicles to Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean, Troop Beverly Hills and Screamers.

Born on September 30, 1928, in native of Cincinnati, Fries began his career at Ziv Television in 1952, where he worked on legendary syndicated shows like The Cisco Kid, Highway Patrol, Bat Masterson, and Sea Hunt. He moved to Screen Gems in 1960, where he was involved in the production of such classics as Naked City,...

Charles “Chuck” Fries, the longtime film and television producer who helped introduce the TV movie concept and shepherded films including “Cat People,” died on Thursday. He was 92.

Over his six-decade-plus career, he participated in the production of more than 5,000 episodes of television, 140 television movies and mini-series, and more than 40 theatrical films.

Fries oversaw feature film production for Columbia Pictures, which produced movies during his time at the studio, including “Five Easy Pieces,” “Easy Rider,” “Getting Straight,” “The Horseman” and “Castle Keep.”

He pioneered the television movie while at Metromedia Productions in the 1970s, then launched his own company, Fries Entertainment. Fries Entertainment produced issue-oriented movies like “The Neon Empire,” “Small Sacrifices,” “The Martian Chronicles” and the Emmy-winning “Lbj” with Randy Quaid and Patti Lupone. He served as executive producer on “The Amazing Spider-Man” TV series that ran from 1977 to 1979. More recently, he had an executive producer credit on both the...

I guess there are plenty of adults now too young to remember when Christopher Reeve made his debut as The Man of Steel. It was a massive hit across the full spectrum of moviegoers. Warners is taking good care of everyone’s favorite undocumented visitor from Planet Krypton, and has assembled two separate cuts of his big-screen premiere.

Superman: The Movie

Blu-ray

2-Film Collection

Warner Bros.

1978 / Color / 2:40 widescreen / 188 min. Extended Cut + 151 min. Special Edition orig. 143 min. / Street Date October 10, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring: Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Ned Beatty, Jackie Cooper, Glenn Ford, Trevor Howard, Margot Kidder, Jack O’Halloran, Valerie Perrine, Maria Schell, Terence Stamp, Phyllis Thaxter, Susannah York, Jeff East, Marc McClure, Sarah Douglas, Harry Andrews, Diane Sherry, Randy Jurgensen, Larry Hagman, John Ratzenberger, Kirk Alyn, Noel Neill.

Cinematography: Geoffrey Unsworth

Film Editors: Stuart Baird, Michael Ellis

Production Design: John Barry

Assistant Director: Vincent Winter...

Decked out in light-up leis, cast members of Superman and Superman II joined a highly nostalgic crowd for a celebration of “The Richard Donner Years.” In attendance were Margot Kidder (Lois Lane), Diane Sherry (Lana Lang), Marc McClure (Jimmy Olsen), Jack O’Halloran (Non), Valerie Perrine (Eve Teschmacher), and Aaron Smolinski (Baby Clark). (Sarah Douglas — Ursa — was scheduled to attend, but was prevented from reaching the con by that classic feller of supervillains, a flat tire.) Much of the panel served as a tribute to Christopher Reeve’s life and work. McClure described him as “a teacher — one of my life’s great teachers.” Kidder said that when she first heard about Reeve’s accident, she thought, “This guy is not a deep thinker, he’s not going to make it. But the person he bloomed into… He really became a heroic person.” [caption id="attachment_437665" align="alignright" width="361"] Image via The Movie Database/caption] Kidder...

Comic-Con International announced the full three-day schedule for WonderCon 2015, which will take place from Friday, April 3 to Sunday, April 5 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. You can clickHere to check out the entire convention schedule, but we have pulled out all of the movie, TV, Blu-ray and DVD related panel presentations below. Take a look at what WonderCon 2015 has to offer!

Friday, April 3

12:00pm - 1:00pm - Going Back to The Future

Filmmakers Jason Aron, Louis Krubich, and Lee Leshen discuss their film Back in Time, a feature-length documentary that shows the cultural impact of the Back to The Future franchise-just in time to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the initial film. Room 207

12:30pm - 1:30pm - Batman

Last year marked the 75th anniversary of the Batman. Now let's take a look into what the future may have to offer for the iconic...

A new image of Henry Cavill as Superman from the set of Man of Steel has arrived thanks to Dcu Movie Page (via Latino Review). The image shows Cavill in costume posing with a young fan. I actually like what I see of the costume so far, and think that the final product after post-production will look great. 

In other Man of Steel news, 13-year-old Jadin Gould (Chuck, The Mentalist, Battle Los Angels) will play a young Lana Lang in a flashback scene to Clark Kent's Smallville childhood, accordiing to Comingsoon and Superman Super Site. 

Lang first appeared in "1950's Superboy #50, Lana is the teenage girlfriend of young Clark. She was a central character in the television series, Smallville (played by Kristin Kreuk) and was seen as a teenager in 1978's Superman: The Movie (played by Diane Sherry) and later as an adult, re-entering Clark's life in Superman III (Played by Annette O'Toole,...

Zack Snyder's Man of Steel has added another famous character from the Superman mythos to the production, albeit in a younger form than fans might have been expecting. Superman Super Site confirms today that 13-year-old Jadin Gould will play a young Lana Lang in a flashback scene to Clark Kent's Smallville childhood. First appearing in 1950's Superboy #50, Lana is the teenage girlfriend of young Clark. She was a central character in the television series, "Smallville" (played by Kristin Kreuk) and has also appeared as a teenager on the big screen in 1978's Superman: The Movie (played by Diane Sherry) and later as an adult, re-entering Clark's life in Superman III (Played by Annette O'Toole, who would later play Martha Kent on "Smallville"). At her...

Has the story of the Superman reboot been uncovered? And will Lindsay Lohan really be playing Lana Lang in the new movie?

When the rumours first sprung up that Lindsay Lohan was being lined up for a role in Zack Snyder's upcoming reboot of the Superman franchise, it's probably fair to suggest that some people thought it was Internet-spawned nonsense. But it's a rumour that's refused to go away, and we're at the point now where it's looking more and more substantive.

That said, we're still recommending numerous pinches of salt until something official comes out of Warner Bros on the story.

The latest twist on the story now is linking Lohan to the role of Lana Lang in the movie. Lang, you might remember, was played by Annette O'Toole in Superman III, and by Diane Sherry in Superman: The Movie. More recently, Kristin Kreuk has been playing her in Smallville.